


A New Start

by love2imagine



Series: Out of this World [11]
Category: White Collar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 00:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3269948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love2imagine/pseuds/love2imagine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Christmas Eve get-together takes an unexpected turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After 'Out of Breath' and 'A Case of Mistaken Identity' although if you haven't read the latter you shouldn't have any problem catching the drift.

 

 

The loft apartment has changed drastically, at least the main room. Neal looked around, trying to remember what had been in here before. He closed his eyes and saw it with that visual memory that had been such a boon throughout his career.

 

These rooms had been his whole private world at one time. (Sometimes not so private!) Most of the furniture had been June’s, and even then, not all hers. Some pieces relegated from the main living areas, many not his taste. He knew she’d moved the bed up for him while he was checking out of the Miserable Motel, and leaving a note for Peter that still brought sparks into his eyes…especially the hugs and kisses! If only he’d had the resources to set up a camera to watch the reactions! There and when he first saw the cute little place Neal had found! (Christmas cards _forever!)_

 

That bed! It had been comfortable and the linens had been of the best quality and even now, when he thought of ‘going to sleep’, he thought of that soft, warm embrace and how good it had felt when, properly showered with fresh-smelling expensive products, his hair feeling truly clean for the first time in years, he had put on silk pyjama bottoms and climbed into bed!   He still had the bed and the linens and probably would never get rid of them. **_People don’t appreciate the simple things!_** he thought **_And I will never take them for granted ever, ever again!_**

 

His universe had expanded somewhat! Since he now had two well-appointed work-spaces at Steel and in the villa, and having the joy of being able to be there and back, there was no reason for such a space here. The last time he had worked in New York had been with…Elizabeth, and those memories were bad, so he felt some inner resistance to painting here, though in spring and fall he often came and sketched on the balcony when he wanted some privacy, to the muffled background of New York noise, or for a private chat with his beloved June. It seemed that of all the Earthlings, only Mozzie jumped as easily and often as he did…perhaps more so…and he seldom minded Moz joining him.

 

With increased wealth and stability, he had tossed a great deal of the furniture that reeked of evil ghosts: given it to thrift stores and some to friends. He’d brought in solid, comfortable seating, he’d had the fireplace expanded to heat the living area and the bedroom if he chose, and moved the bedroom around so he could watch the fire from the bed. He was gathering, without haste, more special pieces to adorn this very special place. The books were almost all at Steel, he just jumped back there to pick up any he needed.

 

He wondered how he had survived having to catch planes and lug stuff around!

 

Now he had a private little nest. If – it had seemed to be a big ‘if’ when he started this project! – he ever found a girl he could love, like and trust, it would be a lovely trysting place. After Rebecca…well, that had made him **_very_ ** suspicious. Now he wanted too much Proof of Life, Mozzie had called it.

          “When you have your girl shoot your best jacket, and deliberately just graze your arm, from 320 metres away, you tell me a little caution isn’t a natural reaction!” he’d told his friend. “After she’s squirmed her way into your life for months and months.”

 

“That wasn’t your best jacket,” was the only response Mozzie could come up with.

 

When Mozzie Dante Haversham Steel started intimating that you were paranoid, you knew you were about as cautious as it was possible to get!

 

And now, all of a sudden: Aramalitha! It seemed this would be his last Christmas without her – without a partner, a lover…a wife. In fact, after that little bit of excitement at Steel, she would make sure she had him by the end of _this_ Christmas if she possibly could! Things were about to change in the life of one habitually solitary New York Neal Caffrey! He smiled, feeling that little inner bubble of excitement when he thought of her!

 

So he was hosting a little Christmas Eve get-together on Earth, just a few of his special friends…June was, reluctantly, going to see her daughter in Atlanta on Christmas day, Mozzie and Sally had booked, on his recommendation, a seven day stay at Wickaninnish Inn to experience the storm season (or lie in bed a lot and be pampered!) They had both been helping him with plans and plots and they deserved a rest!

 

He, Neal, would be heading home to Steel tomorrow.

 

He went over and fiddled with the tree again. It wouldn’t seem to face just the right way! He checked the fire, but the little alien fire-bugs were doing their job perfectly. He smiled at them. He knew the myths about salamanders, but these little guys, that curled up into glass containers when the fuel was gone, looked more like a cross between a sea-dragon and a Spanish-dancer sea-slug made of tiny flames, especially when they were first released onto the tinder, stretching excitedly. They only worked in pairs, which made him wonder why **_Earthlings_** called their firestarters ‘matches’. He hadn’t looked up the etiology, yet.

 

All the food and drink were ready, he was dressed in a lovely set of clothes Lucilla had made when he’d asked her many months ago, soft silk-and-lamb’s wool blend, long-sleeved polo-necked shirt and pants in a darker fabric with a firmer hand. It was simple and, he knew, flattering, the intense colour between aubergine and indigo bringing out the colour of his eyes. The only thing about it he doubted was the heir’s knot she’s worked into the shoulder, and Steel’s crest on the crown of each sleeve, embroidered in the same colour as the top itself, so at least it was subtle.

 

Again, he thought, it would be nice to have a girl. She’d like hugging him in this soft, cuddly cloth. He’d like to feel her hands caressing him over it. Next year he’d have Litha. He wasn’t sure why had been so _unsure!_ When she wasn’t with him, he missed her! Looking back on all the other women, they seemed faded, now.

 

He went to the Revox and threaded in a Christmas-carol tape and fiddled with the volume. The huge reel-to-reel now had excellent speakers, Q5’s, that proved once again that Mozzie had some sort of magic carpet hidden in his storage lockers, because they were heavy!

 

Neal loved music, loved just to listen without worrying about such things as which was of greater importance: musicality, accuracy or realism, which Mozzie could (and did) argue about with an odd little friend of his (yes, littler and odder than himself by far) for nigh on two and a half hours, both of them becoming ever more heated (as though there could be a resolution to the argument), till Neal, his head needing nothing more than Absolute Silence, had left them to it and, in the solitude and privacy of his bathroom, taken two aspirins ( _quelle horreur!_ ) and four Vitamin C’s, and waited in the peaceful darkness till the ringing left his ears!

 

He did not ever tell Mozzie that he had been brought up where the only way to listen to commercial music was an old radio with a tiny and tinny speaker, or a record player at the school that could certainly accurately and realistically reproduce every scratch on the aged and abused records available. Therefore he preferred no audible distortion at normal listening volumes, and was pleased with anything better! Mozzie loved to tell him why superior was superior, and would, at length – and as Moz built up the system, he did appreciate the changes. He had never used it at anywhere like full volume in deference to June – and all Manhattan, possibly all the five boroughs: their ears and building foundations!

 

It had been a series of ‘birthday’ gifts from Moz.

 

Since neither of them were sure on which day they had been born (Witsec had destroyed all his records and Mozzie never had any to begin with) Mozzie just showed up one random day a year with gifts (thus confusing those wishing to compile a dossier about Neal. Of course.) Very often they were odd gifts of the nature of, “It’s lovely, Moz, what is it?” – only that remark sent him into a tailspin of a huff! So Neal now just hoped he’d give away the purpose and use of the gift!

 

Neal now always had a few good sentences ready as a default accept-a-sudden-and-strange-gift-from-Mozzie-without-offending-him con. Usually, “Where would it be best to put it, do you think?” garnered some information! Or, “Wouldn’t you like this in Italy, so we can both enjoy it more often?” – the trick was to keep talking, be awake to all clues, and not confess ignorance and mystification if at all possible!

 

The first year after the wars, knowing that Neal loved music and had a fantastic electronics-dependent collection (always scorned by Moz as acoustically flat and ‘plastic’), Mozzie appeared with some of his LP vinyls, (about 80, not a scratch amongst them), a relatively good turntable, amp and speakers and then a little later, the Revox.

 

Neal had once, and only once, tentatively joked that vinyl surely was also plastic. Mozzie told him, scandalised, that the molecule was related to ethanol, the vine, like _wine._ Neal, being brilliant in his own right, avoided the touchy subject from that time forth!

 

Earlier this year, Moz had appeared with a Rockport Tech System III Sirius turntable and proceeded to set the thing up. Even Neal knew that Porche sportscars could have smaller pricetags, but Mozzie waved him off with, “Electronic content. Guy was practically giving it away! Needed a bit of adjustment and fiddling.”

 

Neal smiled fondly. Payer, or whatever his name was, had felt his turntable was the best of the best and the thought that anyone could ‘fiddle’ it into working correctly without its onboard computer would probably have made him suffer some sort of seizure! When gently queried, Mozzie had said, “Analogue is often just _bigger._ But more reliable. Trust me, your ears will thank me.”

 

Neal, not particularly worried about the how, really appreciated the result. Mozzie had been right. The sound was almost fuller than a live performance!

 

The Alien Wars had certainly cemented their relationship! Much of his stuff, adjusted and modified by his friend could now also only be serviced and maintained by Haversham Industries, a one-genius unlimited and certainly unlicensed business! He sincerely hoped that Mozzie would never want to blackmail him! Even the thought of moving all of this made him feel weak and easily coerced!

 

 

His eyes were caught by the movement outside. Not his friends, yet – the soft flakes of snow were slowly falling. He went to the door to watch. Then Mozzie and Sally were there, bearing gifts and wine, Mozzie’s arm round June. They were all laughing. He opened the door and they hurried inside, shaking off huge, fluffy snow-flakes and sharing greetings and hugs.

 

“I like these changes, Neal,” June said, looking round.

 

“I hope you’re not disappointed I didn’t keep it the same, June,” he replied, apologetically.

 

“I’m surprised you put up with it for as long as you did!”

 

“Well, I never knew how long I was going to be here. Something could have gone wrong at any moment…”

 

“Well, everything went right!” Mozzie said. “And Tammy and Diana are coming over, too, and they’re bringing snacks, Egg-nog, wine and Advokaat.”

 

“Good! I didn’t ask them, I was sure they’d be too busy over Christmas!”

 

“We have a very tolerant father/Keeper/Lord!” Mozzie said, making slash-motions with his hands.

 

“Yeah, we hit the jackpot in so many categories!” Neal grinned at him and Sally, cuddled together in one huge arm-chair, waiting for Diana and Tammy before opening the wine.

 

“I did, also, Neal!” June nodded. She looked especially beautiful in shiny gold lamé with cleverly placed black inserts and a lovely tiger’s-eye suite: necklace, bracelet and drop earrings. “I have wonderful friends here, at Steel, in Italy, two sons…if Lord Steel can adopt you both, so can I! …”

 

Neal went over, glanced for permission and fingered the necklace. “Quality, June. Nicely done. Where…?”

 

“Gift from Moz and Sally. When they saw what I was wearing, they couldn’t resist giving it to me early.”

 

“Exquisite taste, as usual, Moz!”

 

Tammy and Diana arrived giggling on the balcony, juggling covered snack trays and quilted bags. Sally got to the door before Neal and they put down their bags and hugged her warmly. Too warmly for Mozzie, who made tut-tut-put-my-girl-down noises, and they all laughed at him.

 

“Where’s Theo?”

 

“Fell fast asleep with Ophera, and she loves babying him, so we’ll pick him up tomorrow – later – sometime - morning at Steel!”

 

They all laughed again. Somehow it was one of the oddest things about being able to translate as opposed to flying or driving: _no_ time passed, yet there was sometimes an extreme time _change._ Mozzie didn’t seem to mind it, the rest of them often felt disorientated.

 

“Wine!” Mozzie declared. “Let’s get it breathing. Though from the looks of it, you two have been keeping warm on more than your love for a while already!”

 

Soon they were handing round plates with all sorts of interesting delicacies on them. The others had decided amongst themselves that some should be at least quasi-traditional, this was the only Christmas meal Neal was going to get, many were not.

          “I like these smoked-oyster-thingy’s,” Neal mumbled, lazily, from the depths of his arm-chair. “What are they?”

 

“No idea. We made them up. Someone else probably did, too, but they are not forgeries or plageries, Neal Caffrey!” Diana laughed. “We have never seen an original.”

 

“Plageries?” Mozzie scoffed.

 

“If they’re not called plageries, I cannot think why!” Sally told him.

 

“Then Neal’s best non-original work would be called a forgerism!” Mozzie pointed out.

 

“Since you specify that you never saw the original, is your hypothesis then, that, given long enough, billions of chimpanzees would create the Mona Lisa, never having seen the original da Vinci’s version?” Neal demanded of Diana.

 

“With all we know of time and space,” Diana said, waving her glass just a little squiffily at him, “who is to say that’s not who did it the first time? And we are not chimpanzees!”

 

“You know, not to be all pedantic, it doesn’t matter how many times you throw variously coloured sands into the air, they never fall in such a way as to produce a sand painting,” Neal told her, grinning. “People have actually tried it. There is a very strong argument for intelligent design, especially of such works of art as you are maligning.”

 

“So da Vinci is more likely to produce her than another primate?”

 

“From what I’ve observed, without a doubt. Though before the wars wasn’t there was some very nice work done by an elephant,” Neal said, musingly. “I wonder what happened to the elephant. She wasn’t elderly. Might still be alive.”

 

“I think the elephant was a con. And I’m glad I have my own, sweet prime-mate,” murmured Mozzie, snuffling Sally’s ear.

 

“What is **_in_** this wine, Neal?” June demanded.

 

“I think it’s the lack of food that’s in the people, June!” Neal laughed. “No-one wants to stuff themselves too full before Christmas dinners tomorrow. I’m making some coffee!”

 

They all got up and got more food, Neal made coffee and hot chocolate, and dug out the box of over-sized, elaborate Christmas crackers that an Italian grandmother had made for him. This was in return for helping her son, an amputee from the wars, develop his artistic talent when Neal and Mozzie had first returned to Earth and established a base there. They were themselves works of art: all delicate hand-cut paper-lace and beautiful Italian glass gifts inside: intaglio pendants for each of the ladies and a similar Steel Keep signet ring, specially made, for Mozzie. His friendly jewellers at Sunder had set them for him as it wasn’t a festival at Sunder and they had plenty of time.

 

They sat sipping their drinks, snacking, and singing along, when the other pastimes made it possible, with favourite carols on the tape.

 

“How’s Clinton?” Neal said, making himself use the man’s given name!

 

“He and Emily are house-hunting!” Diana told him.

 

“It’s serious, then!”

 

“Very! I’m glad, he’s such a nice guy and she’s very sweet.”

 

“I haven’t spent much time with her, or him,” Neal shook his head. “I must make an effort.”

 

“The only thing about her,” Diana said, making a face, “is that she acts as though we were never off-world, that jumping is a myth. Clinton never does, you know…and yes, I’m lazy and just yell for Tammy, but it’s a good excuse to get her to come to where I am! I’m glad we were all together, can relate. It was significant, **_important!”_**

****

Neal decided that he should mention the elephant that was actually in the room and ease the tension. It was strange, he thought, that they hardly mentioned Jones, or Earth stuff at all, when at Steel, even though these were the same people that met off-world quite often! “And Peter? He’s okay?”

 

Diana shrugged. “He’s trying a bit too hard. Has been the whole year…well, since you told him to PO, Neal.”

 

“You did it first, at Steel!” Mozzie pointed out.

 

“Mmm…not quite the same thing, Mozzie. Not at all. You know – well, maybe you don’t. Anyway, it hit him hard, and I wish we’d all told him sooner. I really don’t think he realised.”

 

“But he’s well?” Neal asked, feeling oddly as though he was asking about someone he’d heard of, long ago, or a character in a book, not a partner he’d loved, and whose life he’d saved and visa versa.

 

“Well enough. Tired. Works too hard. I never see El any more. That’s partly the nature of the job, I guess. I haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks, he took some personal time. He’s just a wee bit stand-offish with me, he thinks I’m on your side. Which I suppose I am.”

 

 

They did the cross-arms-for-good-fortune all round the room and pulled the crackers and the glass ornaments went flying as the loud bangs rang out! Trust the Italians to super-size the fireworks! They all scrabbled after them and June insisted on turning on the lights.

 

“These are _us!”_ Tammy exclaimed, when they’d all been found in the deep pile of the rug, everyone giggling like children! “Mine’s Diana, and hers is me! They’re gorgeous! Deep green for me and deep blue for her. You are so clever!”

 

“And mine is Byron!” June exclaimed. “Standing slender and sexy in his suit and hat, one leg crossed in front! I’ll bet you designed this! Or it could be you, Neal – not easy to tell, and I’ll take it as you both!”

 

Sally’s was her – Sally in profile, looking up and showing off her perfect neck, her soft curls blowing back gently, done in a lemon yellow glass.

 

“Mozzie’s going to get to look at it, anyway,” Neal smiled at her.

 

“Did Steel authorize this extra signet?” Mozzie demanded, slipping the ring on his finger. One of many.

 

“Absolutely. He trusts us!”

 

“I don’t know whether to rejoice at his sweet and useful gullibility or feel harassed and obligated!” Mozzie said. “It’s not a position I’ve usually been in! Do you know, I gave Suit and Mrs Suit a bottle of wine about five years ago, now, and last I heard he still hadn’t the …er …guts to open it!”

 

“And was it just wine?” June asked. “Or did you lace it with LSD?

 

“… or pentothal…?” Sally chuckled.

 

“…or dragon’s breath?” Neal added, laughing.

 

“…or tetra-hydro-canabinoids?” Diana asked.

 

“…or just extra 100% ethanol?” from June.

 

“…or something far more subtle and weird that only a Mozzie would know, since he invented it?” Neal finished.

 

“It was _wine_ , a very nice dry white, actually,” Mozzie declared, offended. “From a batch I’d bought from South Africa, a small private winery near Stellenbosch. I wouldn’t do anything like that to Mrs Suit! If I’d wanted to get the Suit I’d have taken away some of his beer when Mrs Suit was out of town, ‘cause he used to drink more then and replaced it, not taken them something with a ribbon tied around it!”

 

“Sorry, Moz,” Neal said.

 

“It’s probably vinegar, now!”

 

Mozzie produced a large parcel from all of them to Neal…a whole range of new brushes of the highest grade, and all sorts of oil paints, some old, some new. Those he recognised!

 

“I’ve been collecting the paints. I won’t say they’re all legal and above-board. Some were in artist’s studios from before the war, the artists have never been seen again, there are some brushes from such sources, too…some things one cannot get, yet, some new ones are pretty good, but I wanted you to have a nice stock! And since you…channelled Sonsharelitha, or whatever that was, perhaps the original owners can, as it were, lend you a hand!”

 

They all had gifts for each other and eventually it was Neal who said, “You’ve all got long days tomorrow. You should get some sleep, my friends.”

 

They all stood up and started sorting their presents and containers and washing up (ignoring Neal’s objections) and then the phone rang. Everyone looked at it! The age of everyone carrying the noisy things was long gone!

 

Since there were no cell phones (still) Neal and June had put instruments on her line and his in his apartment and her hallway, since they were both away rather often. There were two servants who looked after the building when no-one was there and they could be relied upon to take messages, but of course they were off with their families right now. There was just a guard, and he didn’t answer the phone.

 

They looked at each other and June said, “That’s mine. I wonder if my daughter…a Christmas miracle? But I’d like to see my babies…oh, well…” and she picked it up. They all watched, hoping that June got what she wanted. Her face changed, she became concerned. They all wanted to say, “ ** _What!”_** but none of them did. She said, “He’s here. We’ll come…you’re at home? We’ll be right there.”

 

She put the phone down and looked at the rest of them. “That was P-peter. Elizabeth has some disease. The doctors don’t know what. He wanted to know if I knew where Mozzie was.”

 

“Mozzie?” Tamlin asked, puzzled.

 

“He remembers you cured him of that dreadful ’flu in less than a day,” June said to Moz. “We’ve got to go to him, he is extremely worried and he sounds ghastly! I didn’t recognise his voice at first, only guessed who it was from what he was saying.”

 

“Leave everything,” Neal said. “We can always come back here.”

 

“Let’s not overwhelm the man,” Tamlin said. “I’ll wait here. If I don’t hear, I’ll meet you tomorrow, Diana, you can always catch a lift with Neal or Mozzie.”

 

“I’ll wait with you, Tammy,” Sally said. “I don’t know them well.”

 

“You know where everything is,” Neal gestured vaguely. “Make yourselves at home.”

 

“I think I’ll go. Elizabeth might want some female company, and she knows Diana and me, but we need some help jumping, so Mozzie and Neal, you’re elected!” June commanded, gentle but insistent.

 

Neither Neal nor Mozzie quibbled. “Let’s go.”

 

They all landed in the back garden of Peter and El’s house, just a half-block down. It worked for everyone: Peter and his team did what they could to make sure that June’s house, whether she was there or not, was safe, and it was much nicer than anything they might ever be able to purchase. The snow was coming down thickly, now, and the four were standing in about two inches of the fluffy stuff. They went to the back door and Mozzie knocked. Peter came to the door, bent over, gazing at the little crowd from a face grey and drawn, with frightened, stress-wrinkled, exhausted eyes.

 

“Hey, Peter, what’s going on with Elizabeth?” Neal asked, touching his erstwhile friend’s arm, really alarmed at his colour and his general demeanour.

 

“Mozzie!” Peter gasped, desperately focussing on the man’s face. “Have you got anything…? The doctors say it’s a virus, they don’t know…she just gets worse and worse…I’m so **_scared!_** I can’t think straight! ** _”_**

****

“Peter, dear,” June said, concerned, “have you looked in the mirror? Whatever Elizabeth has, you have it, too, I think!” She took his hand and shook her head worriedly.

Satchmo, a very aged, white-muzzled Satchmo, struggled to his feet and wriggled his way to Neal, wagging his tail as fast as he could.

 

“Always missed you,” Peter said to Neal, sadly. “Mozzie, can we go and see Elizabeth?”

 

“Suit, I could do something, but it would take time…you’re not thinking,” Mozzie shook his head.

 

“Yes, you aren’t,” Neal agreed. “We’ll take her to Steel.”

 

“Absolutely, Boss!” Diana agreed, horrified at how Peter looked.

 

Peter was totally confused for a few seconds, then his face cleared. “Lira! Oh, of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” Then he frowned. “Oh – I did. While ago. I didn’t want to go there just for healing when we never go for anything else. And – and I didn’t realise then how sick she was, but the doctors just kept doing bloody tests…and then I really didn’t feel up to trying to translate…”

 

“I’m glad you didn’t try, Peter! But you should have called for help a long time ago! Come on, let’s get Elizabeth!” Neal followed Peter closely as the man stumbled to the living room, yelling in his heart for Lira to meet them at Steel Keep. He halted for a second when he saw Elizabeth lying on a couch he had never seen before. She was dreadfully thin, deathly pale and sweating, her hair lank and damp and her breath harsh and raspy. She was not even aware of their entrance.

 

Peter was so shaken, and so tired, he didn’t know what to do. Neal pushed him aside gently, took up Elizabeth in his arms and said, “Grab my shoulder, Peter,” and jumped as Peter did so.

 

They landed in the Greatroom, and Steel, Shiral and Lira were already there. Peter stumbled and Diana and Mozzie held him. Tamlin bounced in a few moments later. Everyone got out of the way and Neal put Elizabeth on the large leather couch and Shiral covered her with some blankets.

 

“Thank you for being here!” Peter and Neal said to Lira at the same time. Neal backed off. Steel took one look and pushed Peter onto the next couch.

“But - ?” Peter gasped hoarsely, trying to get up.

 

“Peter, I bought you, I own you – and Elizabeth – so be still and let Lira look after both of you! You are almost as sick as your wife, man!”

 

Peter saw that Ophera and Shiral were wiping Elizabeth’s face with a cloth and Lira was speaking to her softly, and he suddenly accepted that he could rest, let go, and realised how truly ill he felt.

 

“When did you last eat, Boss!” Diana demanded of him, bossily. He shook his head slightly. He couldn’t remember. “I think you’re dehydrated, too.”

 

“Yes, look at the colour of the skin, those dark circles around the eyes – under-nourished and dehydrated!” Shiral said. “I shall introduce fluids into their blood vessels. Come, Diana, you can help me!”

 

 

Neal ran around the group of humans and spoke briefly to his Lord, and Steel hurried out. Mozzie was going round handing the Earthlings the ear-bugs they had used when first at Steel Keep.

 

No-one in the central group was paying much attention to what was going on, all their focus was on Elizabeth and Peter. Elizabeth was obviously grievously ill and in a day or so, Peter would have been as bad! Elizabeth looked _so_ much worse than Mozzie had when he’d found them all that time ago…it seemed like decades!

 

Neal appeared after a few minutes and so did Steel. Neal stood behind Lira, soaking in her voice, her power, the love that flowed from every fibre of her being. He felt Steel come and stand behind him, and the Lord put his hands on Neal’s shoulders. They both loved this!

 

When Neal glanced over at Elizabeth’s face, she already looked better: her colour was returning. Peter looked as though he was in a relaxed sleep, now.

 

At last Lira stopped singing. “They will sleep now, and I will be here when they wake,” she said.

 

Steel and Mozzie pushed the two couches close together so that Peter was lying next to Elizabeth and would be the first thing she saw when she awoke.

 

“We are here, Peter,” Tamlin told him, though he appeared asleep. “If there is any change, we will wake you.”

 

“You’ll stay? You’ll be here …later?” Peter mumbled, lifting his head a little, surprising some of them by being that aware.

“We’ll be here, Suit!” Mozzie told him, and disappeared to get Sally.

 

“I love my sons,” Steel said to June, smiling happily, as Peter fell asleep immediately, as though pole-axed.

 

“I love my two sons, too, my Lord. You have to share them with me, remember, I found them first!”

 

“Always enough heart to share love, Lady June,” he said.

 

Soon all the Earthlings were sleeping in chairs and couches in the Greatroom except June, who had been convinced to go and sleep in Neal’s original bed. “I will call you, I promise!” Neal told her.

 

“You’d better, young man!” June admonished as she left the room. “If Lira sings again, I need all the rejuvenating and healing I can get!”

 

When Neal woke, Mozzie was squeezing his shoulder. He roused immediately, looking towards Elizabeth. Her lovely blue eyes, that should have always made him envious but never had, were open. She was looking much better and very, very surprised. Peter was clambering stiffly to his feet, pushing the couches a little apart and taking her hands in his.

 

“Hi, Hon,” he said, tenderly, and Neal’s throat closed. He might not have envied El her eyes, but he had always envied them this closeness.

 

“Hi, Hon,” she answered, her voice scratchy. “Oh! You - ” she broke off to cough, and Shiral was there, holding a straw to a glass of water, which she drank with a nod of thanks, and went on in a whisper, “- you brought me to Lira! How clever of you, Hon!”

 

“Not me, I was a complete idiot! I finally thought of Mozzie, remember the bee stuff? I called June, she brought Mozzie and Neal, they brought us here! How are you feeling?”

 

She thought a moment, and Neal went off in search of June. By the time he came back, Peter was in tears, lying over Elizabeth, hugging her.

 

Lira entered the room with Steel and Ophera. Then a hairy golden body carefully put his paws on Elizabeth’s couch.

          “ ** _Satchmo!_** ” she said, delightedly, petting him while he whined with happiness. “You look great! But how did **_you_** get here?”

 

          “I brought him,” Neal said, quietly. “He needs some love and healing, too…and he would have been all alone on Christmas!”

 

          Peter looked across at Neal and said, simply, “Thank you.” Then: “Lord Steel where are your dogs? I would hate them to eat mine!”

 

          “Neal asked me before he brought yours to make sure they were secure, Peter, while I am here they are in the stables with Klenalth,” Steel smiled.

 

 

Soon there were slaves everywhere, carrying trays, feeding people. Ophera had made some nutritious soup and they all realised how very hungry they were! Brak brought a wide bowl of soup and a large bone for Satchmo.

          “He can’t chew bones any more, Brak,” Elizabeth said, apologetically, then watched in wonder as her dog lay down, pegged the bone with a paw and crunched it with obvious enjoyment.

 

“Lira is amazing!” Mozzie smiled. 

 

          “I will start to sing again, while you eat. Then Elizabeth and Peter, at least, must sleep more, and anyone else who feels like doing so,” Lisa said to them in her soft, musical voice. She sang and for a long while no-one spoke, though the kitchen staff kept bringing tea, water, wine and ale as well as breads and more soup.

 

Eventually, Lira stopped. She went to Elizabeth and touched her hair and said, “You need to be happier, my child. You need to take very good care of yourself for a fifty-day or two. Please do this?”

 

“I’ll take care of her, Lira, I promise,” Peter said, solemnly.

 

“Bring her here at the first sign of tiredness,” Lira said, and it was almost an order. “Because look after your wife and yourself you have not, Peter!”

 

“We can always bring Elizabeth if you are busy with work, Peter, or you are too worried to make the jump,” Neal said, behind him.

 

“Sally and I should go, we’ve got somewhere to be, but we’ll pop back tomorrow…well, sometime!” Mozzie chuckled. “In a day or two.”

 

Steel smiled at them, hugging Mozzie gently with one arm. To Neal’s surprise, Sally threw her arms round the Lord’s neck and hugged him, and he smiled down at her. Then Mozzie waved round, said, “Feel better! We’ll see you soon!” to Elizabeth, and they winked out.

 

“I wonder if I should tell my daughter a dear friend is very ill,” June said, musingly. “It’s true, but I know I could go and leave Elizabeth in very capable hands…I just would like an excuse. But then I’ll miss seeing my grand- and great-grand-babies…”

         

“I’ll take you, June, Sweetie,” Neal said, “We’ll go via New York and you can change. If it gets too awful, just yell to Tamlin or Shiral and they’ll tell me, and I’ll come, like the cavalry, and rescue you!”

 

June nodded, and Neal grinned that she had no doubt he wouldn’t just jump her out, that he’d think of a clever ruse to extract her!

 

Soon they were gone.

 

“I have made your suite ready, Peter and Elizabeth,” Steel said. “There was a couple there, but they have only been there a few tendays and were quite happy to move. So all is cleaned and ready for you. I placed one of my dog’s puppy-beds for Satchmo. I would like Lira to sing for you both again, and you obviously need more rest than you have been getting at home!

          “Anything you need, just call or come to the kitchen, there is almost always someone there!”

 

“And you know where our home is, Peter!” Brak told him.

 

“You are being very kind, Lord Steel,” Peter said, rather ashamed. “You haven’t seen us for many months …fifty-days! …”

 

“You are two of the Earthlings for whom I actually paid a purchase price, Peter!” Steel smiled. “Therefore, though you have other assignments, this is always your home, too. Not that I would ever turn the lovely Diana or Caleb – Jones! - away, and of course Mozzie is mine, now. And you helped us find the murderers, remember? The represents no small assistance.”

 

“I sometimes forget how nice is the home you have built here for everyone, Lord,” Peter said. “Come, Hon, let’s get you a bath and some more sleep!”

 

“A bath! How delightful that sounds!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I’ve been sweaty and tired and itchy and horrid for ten days or more, and now I actually think I can face a bath!”

 

Steel picked her up, to the vast astonishment of various slaves that passed by and noticed (it was one thing to see him carrying his son – but a slave who did not even choose to live here any longer…!) and Satchmo followed closely, his tail wagging and his tongue lolling in a doggy grin. Shiral and Whim, now a great deal taller than when they had first met her, went to help Elizabeth.

 

Tamlin, now holding Theo’s hand, reminded Lord Steel that she and Diana were going to celebrate Christmas with Diana’s people, and he patted their shoulders. He was finally getting used to being more cuddly, as Mozzie would have called it.

 

 

 

When Neal bounced back, feeling a little as though he should have held out for air-miles! – Steel was sitting in the Greatroom reading. He put the book down and smiled up at his son. “You look as though you need to have a bath and a sleep yourself, Neal!”

 

“How is Elizabeth?”

 

“She is very much improved. Lira would not have left her, else.”

 

“Good.”

 

“I am proud of you, Neal, that you put aside your difficulties with Peter and Elizabeth and did what was best.”

 

Neal shrugged and sat down next to Steel. “She looked as though she was on the verge of death, my Lord! To do anything less than bring her here would have been criminally negligent. I might have had problems with them, especially Peter, but I lost my Kate,” he swallowed, “and I would never wish that on my worst enemy, let alone Peter, who has his weaknesses but is a good man on the whole. Diana has no problems with him. He was just a bad match for **_me.”_**

 

“Come, let us go for a ride, Neal! Your bath can wait! I was waiting for you, but I become uncomfortable if I get less exercise than I am used to. And we are having one of those odd warm periods of weather we have during even the coldest winter, so feel too cold you should not.”

 

They took two of the younger, less trained colts. Neal settled down in the saddle, and the black horse shook his head a few times and calmed. Steel nodded. He hadn’t been riding very often with Neal except using the well-trained horses, and was pleased to see how comfortable he was on this raw young beast. They cantered along one of the tracks.

 

Lord Steel led Neal up a narrow track, over a hill and there, in a hollow protected from the coldest winds, a field of flowers were blooming, all shades of purples, from almost white to the deepest royal and even some indigo.

 

“Oh!” breathed Neal. “How gorgeous!”

 

“They appear here every year, many fifty-days before there is a flower anywhere else!” Steel told him. “I knew you would appreciate the beauty. On warmer days, when some hardy insects can be found, the scent is breathtaking, but I think today is too cool.”

 

“Thank you, my Lord! I would never have found them on my own.”

 

“Unless they were throwing their fragrance. That is how I found them as a boy.”

 

“These are the flowers on your crest, Lord?”

 

“Correct, Neal! And if you can paint them, I will be surprised!”

 

Neal shook his head. “A misty watercolour catching the overall impression, but spectacles such as this are best painted by the Great Creator.”

 

“I have never seen any representation of these fields of flowers that have pleased me.”

 

“Peter says I am arrogant, my Lord, and I know I can do certain things better than average, but I also know my limitations and remain humble in the presence of nature’s simultaneous beauty, fragility and strength.”

 

Steel looked at him, wondering where Peter had seen this arrogance. In his dealings with Neal, his son had always been ready to bow to his requests, almost without fail respectful and submissive, even if not always unerringly obedient! It had been **_Peter_ ** who had baulked. Often! How unusual people were, perhaps especially these Earthlings. He continued to find them most interesting!

 

They made their way back, cantering the horses and then cooling them. Neal sniffed the air.

          “Your planet is lovely and clean, my Lord! The air, especially when it is snowy, is fresh and sharp! Our atmosphere is becoming cleaner, after all the mess of the wars.”

 

“You always surprise me, Neal – Diana and Mozzie, too – that you seem so grateful to have been abducted and enslaved!”

 

“Oh, I am most exceedingly grateful, my Lord! Not for the Slavers, exactly, as their intent was evil and mercenary, but to be bought by yourself and given the opportunities you gave us, up to and especially adopting me and Mozzie? It was a fantastically beneficial experience. I can never tell you that often enough! And – I should apologise. I said ‘our planet’ before, meaning Earth, but this is just as much my planet now!”

 

“It was, after all, the place you were born, just as Steel is always my home even when I felt uncomfortable here at one time. And I am glad I chose my heirs. Everyone at Steel is pleased to see you.”

 

“And I them, my Lord! Leran always glares at me, though, especially at first, as I seldom stay and practise enough for his liking! But I **_have_** been studying some of Earth’s sword-fighting techniques that may be more useful here than the formal art of fencing I learned originally on Earth. And my shorter reach puts me at a disadvantage. ”

 

“Perhaps there are some new techniques that we could incorporate into our training.        

          “I also asked Lord Betchem to issue what you and Mozzie called a ‘constitutional challenge,’ having gathered support from about a third of the Keeper-Lords. The treatment of slaves and the methods of their procurement are being hotly debated!”

 

“You got Lord Betchem to do it for you?”

 

“Yes. He is generations my senior, Betchem Keep is a great many times the size of Steel, he is treated with far more respect in the House.

          “And had I issued the challenge, my rather unorthodox, not to say illegal, activities against the Slavers may come to light!”

 

Neal laughed as they left the stables and re-entered the main Keep. “I could never have chosen a Lord here better suited to be my master, my Lord!”

 

Steel put his arm across Neal’s shoulders as they walked and agreed. “Yes, I cannot think you would have been comfortable all the time at Betchem, for example! Lord Betchem is not unreasonable, less strict than my father in matters of protocol and behaviour, but I think he would have found your antics often worthy of punishment…as ours did, his son Ethlan and me, when I went there! And sometimes it was all of his offspring and me!”

 

“You must share these stories with me in the firelight one evening, my Lord!” Neal chuckled.

 

“Perhaps, Neal – if Peter is not here to make his disapproving faces!”

 

“ ** _That_** I understand, too well, my Lord!”

 

“He punished you when you were indentured to him?”

 

Neal made his own face. “The situation was difficult, Lord. The only legal and viable punishment was for him to put me back in prison, which would have been extremely dangerous for me, and he resisted doing that. He cared too much for me and also wanted me to be with him, we had a very good record of catching the bad men!

          “So poor Peter was stuck without a viable alternative…he would have loved to have punished me in some lesser way, but was so restricted by our laws that he could not. I think it made him more irritable than he would have been otherwise, he felt he could not train me to better behaviour, and it did nothing for our relationship. All he could do was lecture! Which of course I detested and at least pretended to completely ignore! Certainly, his speeches did not cause me to change my behaviour, or, indeed, to wish to do so.”

 

“Whereas I have almost boundless legal disciplinary methods at my disposal, my son, and our relationship is excellent!”

 

They laughed, but Neal said, “You have never preached at me! And in fact, though you have threatened now and then, I think the only punishment you ever handed out to me was to make me sleep on the floor when I broke into your suite, my Lord!

          “Peter was equally bound by laws he did not completely agree with, whereas you have much more autonomy in that regard and have, let us be honest, my Lord, let Mozzie and me get away with a great deal of nonsense and mischief!”

 

“Temporarily, Neal, temporarily. You must know I make notes of everything and will present your reckoning at some time!”

 

“Ah – at a time most embarrassing for us, my Lord?”

 

“Exactly!”

 

They were laughing with each other as they walked through the kitchen, and the other slaves looked up and smiled. Their Lord had been good-natured enough from the time he had inherited the knot, but had seldom laughed with such delight as since he had adopted his sons. As usual, they made small gestures of deference to both Lord and heir, a smile or a nod, and Neal waved his fingers at them and muttered to Steel,

          “Still not at all used to being viewed with respect…awe, in certain criminal circles, but never respect!”

 

They entered the Greatroom and Lira was talking to Shiral in a hushed voice and there were several younger slaves with Lucilla talking to Elizabeth and Peter. Lord Steel went over to Lira and Neal went over to see how Elizabeth was feeling.

 

          “Oh, Neal, so much better! I can’t tell you! I felt so awful and then after a while I couldn’t even wake up, and I was having terrifying dreams!”

 

          “Probably the fever,” Neal nodded. “I have experienced some dreams like that, and would not wish them on anyone! I am so very glad we know about Lira!”

 

          “She is a miracle-worker!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “Not only me…Peter’s much better everyone says and as for Satchmo, he’s bounding around like a puppy! Steel introduced him to those two enormous dog-things of his, and I think **_they_ ** think he’s a puppy, too! He’s prancing about in the courtyard with them, now.”

         

Neal glanced over at Peter, who huffed a little and said, awkwardly, “Thank you for bringing us here.”

         

“Not a problem, Peter! The only thing we could have done – any of us would have done the same.”

 

          “I think it’s wonderful…you speak their language now like a native!” Elizabeth said. “I can’t speak even one Earth language properly, and you speak – what is it? Eight? – and now an off-world language, too.”

 

          Neal shrugged it off.

 

          Mozzie and Sally popped in right then, close to Neal, who smiled at their delight. The other slaves were still a little surprised by all their comings and goings, since most of the people, other than the Chiri, had never learnt to ‘jump’, and didn’t really want to try it!

 

          “You are looking well, Elizabeth!” Sally said, her voice a little forced. “Moz was really worried about you!”

 

          “Yes, Mrs Suit! A great improvement!” Mozzie agreed. “Oh, and Neal – you were right! The West Coast is lovely! I had never been to the Island before. We will return, we wished to see how Elizabeth and Peter were doing, merely.”

 

“I’m glad you are enjoying it, Moz!”

 

At that time Lucilla, who had been listening to Steel and Lira, said, “We should be working now, come!” to her group, and they all trouped past the Earthlings, and though Lucilla merely smiled and ducked her head at Neal and Mozzie, all the others, who did not interact with the heirs as often, did a little dipping bow of respect as they passed the two. Mozzie and Neal nodded and smiled at them.

 

Peter cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen that…I knew Steel made you both his heirs, but it’s another thing to see you honoured by the other slaves here. Makes me feel a little strange.”

 

Neal shrugged again, but Mozzie couldn’t help saying, “You can probably just think of it as another scam, Suit…just another alias!”

         

Neal grinned a little. “Which it is in a way. After all, Steel will find some pretty girl and have babies of his own and we’ll be potential regents and then eventually relegated to sort of old uncle status!”

 

Most of the company left and Neal was leaving, too, not quite knowing what to say to Peter and Elizabeth after their altercation a long while back, and all the horrible mess of their last few months together before the alien invasion.

 

 

“Neal!” Peter called gruffly, and Neal turned, his eyebrows a little raised. Peter’s face softened and he pointed to the ottoman. “Please, sit? Just for a little while?”

 

Feeling somewhat uneasy, not knowing what this was about, Neal sat.

 

Peter went on, “It’s been a long time since we spoke, Neal. Really spoke, you know what I mean. And I just wanted to apologise, Neal.

          “I don’t know that it was completely one-sided, you broke the law and didn’t tell me things, and some of that was because I wouldn’t have been able to ignore facts that may have put you in prison again. Part of the problems were caused by my job, and the law, some were caused by my own prejudice and lack of flexibility.

          “I became very good at ignoring what had happened that broke us apart and, if it came to mind, telling myself that _I_ was right, that _you_ broke the law, and putting it out of my mind again! And then – you died. Here, with the flowers. And you came back, and I saw how much you loved Steel, June and Mozzie. I tend to be a little stubborn, Neal, but I saw that – I _saw_ that. I think at one time, when we were partners, you would have looked for _me_.

          “I realised what we had lost. And I realised I didn’t really know what had happened. It all seemed like a bad dream. I couldn’t remember properly, and even then only bits and pieces.”

 

Peter was watching Neal attentively, but Neal had shut down. This was his con mask. No way of knowing what was going on in that clever mind of his behind the still, sculptured face and careful eyes. Peter went on resolutely. After all, there was nothing to be lost, no matter how Neal reacted.

          “For the problems I caused between us, I’d like to say I’m sorry. You did deserve better than that. I wanted you to change and I was unable to change, was convinced I didn’t need to. That’s not fair. You were one of the best things that ever happened to me; after Elizabeth, probably the best thing. I don’t know how we could have come together except through my job that was part of the problem, but I honestly wish we could just have been friends.

          “So after you died and came back…when I went back home I started to look for answers. Oh, Mozzie would have laughed! I tried psychiatrists and psychologists, lots of them. Wasted time and money! And then a found a very odd person, she called herself a hypnotherapist.”**

 

A spark of interest showed in the depths of the blue eyes. Encouraged, Peter told Neal, as close to word for word as he could manage, what had happened. It took a while, and now and then slaves would go past, Tam brought some tea but no-one, including Neal and Elizabeth, interrupted Peter’s recital.

          “I didn’t _remember_ him, Neal, I had shut him out so diligently for so long! I did not remember my own brother! If someone had asked me about him directly, of course, I would have – but my parents are both dead, no-one in my life at that time knew of his existence.

          “But in some ways you were like him, reminded me of him. I slowly started to think I disliked you, didn’t trust you – not your behaviour, which, I know, was often criminal, but you, your dependability - because of that. It wasn’t conscious, or intentional, but it was totally unfair to you. Please forgive me?”

 

“And,” Elizabeth went on, taking Neal’s hand, “I want to apologise, too. I often encouraged you to break the law or do things that I thought might only be accomplished by breaking the law, and I caused rifts between you and Peter, and for that I’m sorry…especially when I didn’t phone, when he left you there thinking he’d turn you in.

          “Look, Neal, there is nothing we can do to put all that right. We’ve been talking about it, though, we wanted you to know if we ever had a chance to tell you after you called us on that. Most of what you said was right. And we are sorry.”

 

Neal looked from one to the other and nodded. He left his hand in hers, but did not respond affectionately as he would once have done, squeezing it in return. “Of course, of course! Look – though the only thing Christmassy about Steel in this season is lots of snow, it’s Christmas! And Christmas is, really, all about forgiveness. And what this Claire saw, and you then remembered, explains a great deal.

          “I did throw it all at you, that evening, but it wasn’t the whole picture, either. I did go my own way, and of course I thought I was doing the right thing trying to find Kate, painting the girl with the locket, all the way through to working with Hagen. Part of that was because I couldn’t come to you – or anyone – and get unbiased help! I had you, I had Mozzie…I had to make judgement calls between two polar opposites and many of them may have been wrong!

          “I often used to think, at first, that it would have been such fun to actually be – **_really!_** – on the same side! If I thought as you did, or if you were also a conman with me and Moz, and El and Kate were friends…we could have used them to impersonate each other, give each other alibis, they were alike enough at first glance!”

 

Peter looked at Elizabeth and grinned. “There’s a picture!”

 

“I’ve often been kind of sorry we didn’t know your life, we couldn’t experience it!” El chuckled. “With all our brains and smarts, working together – with Moz, of course!”

 

“I envied you a great many times, Neal!” Peter nodded. “I’m sure it wasn’t all music and champagne and roses, but it was a long way from my proscribed existence!”

 

Neal’s eyebrows went up. “I wish I’d known that. It would have helped. I always thought you looked down on me and my bohemian, no-rules lifestyle.”

 

“You broke laws and even though you tried not to, you did hurt people sometimes, but so do we, the FBI, the LEO’s at the time…we put people away, like Byron, and hurt his June, and there’s nothing the law says about that! Even just dragging someone in for questioning can lose them their job! Even the best of us lean on someone – or lie, as I did to try and extract a confession. It’s legal. With the best of intentions – get the bad guy off the street – but it can be very cruel to the guilty _or_ the innocent! And then there’s the prison system….”

 

They all sat quiet for a few moments and Elizabeth said, “I wish the world wasn’t like that.” She sighed. “Neither of you – none of us – were evil, but we hurt each other. And though I wish we could go back, the same problems would still exist – unless we could give Neal a lobotomy or Peter and I had the guts to close our doors and come with you, Neal - !”

 

They all smiled, a little sadly.

 

“But – you were there for me again, you and Mozzie and June,” Peter said. “I think Elizabeth, my beloved Elizabeth would have died if you hadn’t come. If you’d treated us as I treated you when I found out about the gold…”

 

“And me!” Elizabeth added, honestly and sadly. “I didn’t call either, that night…and you saved my husband, he might have been still in prison, he might have been given the death sentence for killing a senator, he might have been killed in the alien raids, or by a vicious guy in prison.”

 

“Or worse,” Neal murmured.

 

“And I think you’ve saved our dog to go walkies another day!” Peter went on with a slight smile. “I didn’t _think_ about Satchmo!”

 

“Hey, more important people to worry about!” Neal told him. “ _I_ left him and didn’t come and see him because I was having a disagreement with his parents!”

 

“We came to a conclusion, Neal,” Elizabeth said, making her most determined face, “after Peter found out about Bobby, about thinking of you as Bobby. We do want to be friends, if we can, if you’ll let us. Friends again. We know we probably messed it up so much it will never be the same, but if there’s anything – anything – we can do for you, or Mozzie, or June, just ask. If there’s any way we can do it, we will.”

 

Neal’s eyes lit up. “You mean that? Seriously?”

 

Peter nodded, a little wary.

 

Neal leaned forward and took Peter’s hand. “Look, Mozzie has come up with this plan…we can pull it off, but it really needs five people to make it foolproof!”

 

Elizabeth and Peter traded glances.

 

Neal, sensing misgivings, went on, his words low and hurried, filled with excitement, eyes glowing, “We’d all be set for life – for more than life! Imagine anything you want that money can buy – anything! Helping your families, boats, estates, butlers and maids, flying to Paris for dinner, **_anything!”_**

****

**“** This is on the level, Neal?” Elizabeth asked.

 

Neal sat back. “You said **_anything_** …do you think we can get that kind of return ‘on the level’? It’s not hurting any particular person, you don’t have to have any special skills, we just need someone we can trust to kind of stand in place and stay calm….” He looked back and forth between them, and the light died out of his eyes. “Oh. It was just something to say.” He took his hands back. He sat back and wiped his palms on his thighs.

 

Elizabeth cleared her throat. “No, Neal, we said it and we meant it. Didn’t we, Peter?”

 

“Can I ask how many laws we’d be breaking, and how likely we are to get caught?” Peter asked. “No, no – if you need us, we promised.”

 

“Wouldn’t matter if you lose your job, Peter, we’ll keep you safe and we’ll be rich!” Neal told them. “I’d **_love_** to work with the two of you!”

 

“I do enjoy doing my job, it isn’t just the money! But actually,” Peter said, “my job _has_ been getting kind of boring, I’ve missed having my crazy friend making things interesting!”

 

“There you go!” Neal said, smiling widely again, bouncing on his seat just a bit.

 

“Um, only one thing, Neal – can we trust you?” Elizabeth asked. “After all, all those things you accused us of, before, and we agree we did do a lot of that, you’d be well within your rights to set us up so we both land in prison….”

 

“El!” Peter exclaimed in horror. “Neal would never do that! _Never!”_

 

Neal chuckled. “El is by far the smarter of the two of you, Peter! I could so easily destroy your lives if it wasn’t for two things….”

 

“What?” Elizabeth challenged, her eyes sparkling in response to Caffrey’s wicked look.

 

“Firstly, and by far the most unarguable reason,” Neal said, putting out a thumb to count, “is Satchmo. How could I take his parents away from him?”

 

“Oh!” Peter said, a little startled.

 

“And the second reason?” Elizabeth demanded, leaning over so she could get a look into Neal’s blue eyes, fondly if falsely believing that she would see if he was lying.

 

Neal, knowing this, twinkled at her and shook his head. “No tells, Elizabeth.”

 

“People say you have tells,” Peter put out, cautiously.

 

“They see what I want them to see…if I give a tell it’s because I want them to believe I am lying and therefore believe the opposite of what I am saying…a _very_ powerful way to make people believe what I want them to believe. I learnt that before I was thirteen!”

 

“So tell us the other reason, Neal.” Peter was getting exasperated and remembered **_that,_ ** too, from working with this man! Was _everything_ a con?

 

“I’ve always had some vague hopes that there might be some future prospects for us,” Neal said, suddenly very serious. “With all your problems and your faults and your limitations and your law-abidingness.

          “There is no job, I just wanted to see what you’d agree to do! I’ve missed you, too. I’ve been very busy, so less than I might have thought of you otherwise. And I couldn’t understand what happened to us… I mean, there were always tensions, but nothing like what happened those last months we were working together - but you went and found that out, the whole story of your brother.

          “That means to me that you do care, that you are sorry that we lost what we had. And that means a lot to me.”

 

Peter stood up and the other two responded by copying him. He put his hand out tentatively and Neal shook it. “Thank you, Neal!”

 

Elizabeth said, “Men!” and hugged Neal so suddenly he lost his balance and Peter had to grab his shoulder.

 

They sat again, because Neal did. Neal shrugged and said, “Look, it’s been a long time, and I have to think about this. I thought we were over, no hope you know?”

 

“Sorry we left it so long, but – well, we were afraid you’d just shut us down. You were so very angry, so very hurt, before, and since we’ve been polite and distant with each other,” Peter said.

 

“Yeah. Before it was …” Steel came in the room, and Neal glanced over, his eyes lighting up. He nodded and Steel acknowledged it and left without speaking. Neal cleared his throat. “Before, when we first – when you took me out of prison, Peter, it wasn’t an ideal way to get to know each other. I felt used, controlled – I was, after all.

          “Now I don’t need you.”

 

“I see,” Peter nodded, gravely. “You’ve made a place for yourself. You’re respected and loved and needed. The people here need you. I’m sorry, Neal.”

 

Neal shook his head. “No, I don’t mean it that way. Look, you don’t need me to solve cases, I don’t need you to keep me out of prison. That takes all that off the table, and that’s good! How can we be equals if we’re not equals?”

 

“But – but you love Steel, he very obviously loves you. He’s the Lord of the Keep …”

 

“And has complete power over me. Which I gladly give him. He basically lets me do exactly what I want to do, Peter. We’re like father and son in truth, it’s not…” Neal stopped short.

 

“Not abusive..?” Peter asked, his voice becoming hard.

 

“I was going to say, ‘one sided’, but I don’t know that I mean that. I can leave him, or he me. We choose each other constantly. With us, you and me, it was never like that. We were stuck together by our needs, you could only throw me back if you accepted that your success rate would go down. I could only leave you by going back to a cell or going on the run. We had to keep secrets because of who we were and the scams we were running on each other – both of us, all the time. Steel has read my life, and I his! Very few secrets! My situation here is far from equivalent to what ours was.”

 

“Needs…scams…doesn’t sound like friendship.” El ran her fingers through her freshly-washed hair and looked at the floor.

 

“Peter – El – it is astounding that we grew as close as we did under those far- from-favourable conditions! That we had each other’s backs, and not because of the needs, things often happened that forced us to react in an instant! At that level we trusted each other implicitely.

          “I do not know if we would have grown to be friends if we’d just met ten years ago. We are so different, and more so back then, I think! But there’s a lot I respect about both of you, and there’s a residual …caring, fondness... perhaps even love under the hurt.

          “We are not forced together by need. You have explained the downward spiral near the end, before we were abducted. We do not need to have secrets from each other. And there may not be enough to bring us close together, but we can try, if you want to.”

 

Elizabeth swallowed. “It doesn’t sound as though you want to, very much.”

 

“I miss what I thought we had. Then suddenly I thought we’d never really had _anything._ ” Neal was grave. Very unlike the almost always-smiling, always conning, always-being-likeable young man from many years ago, and Peter recognised how _that_ Neal had always been trying to keep safe, keep people with huge amounts of power over him liking him so they wouldn’t throw him back in prison. He realised that this lack of a mask was a compliment. “I can easily forgive you how you reacted to me, seeing me as Bobby, not seeing that I was doing the only thing I could think to do to help you, even if it was not perfect. We all have programmes running in our hearts and minds that are no longer applicable!

........"I probably wanted to see something in you, Peter, get something from you, of the father I had lost, and that wasn't fair to you, either. You didn't sign up for that. You just offered me a working relationship, and it was often a great deal more than that, a great deal warmer.

........"I think perhaps we can try and become friends. Let’s take it from there,” Neal added, and looked up, back and forth between them. “Is that good enough?”

 

“That’s good enough,” Peter nodded, as soberly, though El looked sad, having thought it might be easier than this.

 

“Well, when you’re feeling up to it, I wouldn’t mind taking you on a ride to show you this field of flowers. And there’s a gathering at Betchem in a few days, but you’ll need some really special clothes. I’d like you to join us.”

 

El smiled again, and Neal and Peter joined in tentatively. It was a start.

 

 

 

 

 The End of Chapter 1

** 'A Case of Mistaken Identity ' tells the story of how Peter found out about Bobby.

 

There, got them talking! Now they can start rebuilding their so-damaged trust and friendship.


	2. Bloody Conmen and Wimpy Agents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing really to add to the title!

 

 

 

Neal walked out of the Greatroom, a little confused. Surely he should feel delighted that Peter and Elizabeth wanted to be friends again? Peter had given him a reason that their partnership had turned to dross, a very good and understandable reason. But it had been such a long time with no contact! They didn’t feel part of his life now!

 

He was a little preoccupied, and nearly walked into two tall young men standing to attention right in his way, adorned with matching scowls that made deep lines on their face where lines seldom fell.

 

“Master Neal!” they exclaimed, in unison, and he stopped short.

 

“Oh, Joster, Merritt, did your errand go well?”

 

“Master Neal,” Joster started, determinedly, “you sent Merritt and me on a fool’s errand to collect thousands of fire-bugs for no other reason than to allow yourself and Sir Mozzie to risk your lives again to trap the murderers!”

 

“Oh!” Neal was taken aback. “Actually, Joster - ”

 

“It is ridiculous!” Merritt went on. “We are your men, your guards and warriors and you, who are less able with weapons and shorter and not even a local by birth, and the heir to our Keep and beloved of our Lord, and our friend – _you_ end up at the tip of a murderer’s sword!”

 

Neal scratched his eyebrow and scrunched his face up. “Merritt, I am fine, you do see that? Not the smallest nick! Not a drop of blood lost! And it was far from planned - ”

 

“We are getting to know you and Sir Mozzie and you plan everything! You put about one plan and have several layers of plans beneath that, secret plans!” Joster clenched his fists and his voice became louder. “And you leave us out!”

 

Hearing this altercation, Peter slowly stood up and sneaked up to the door-jamb. He could see the three reflected in a mirror, but from such an angle that they were unaware of his surveillance from the brightly lit hallway. He didn’t know what was going on, but perhaps Neal would need some back-up? They sounded very angry with him!

 

Neal put his finger to his lips, leaned forward and whispered, “Shh, both of you.”

 

They immediately hunched their shoulders and bent closer and whispered back, “Why, Neal?”

 

“Because I cannot tell you what happened if you continue to scold me - completely unfairly, I might add,” Neal continued whispering. “I was riding with Lord Steel, and then went out with Mozzie. They had been waiting – since we had the others killed and removed the flowers – for Mozzie and me to be alone together away from the Keep. Had you been with us, or the Lord, or anyone, they would have continued waiting and perhaps come up with a more dangerous plan – that might have succeeded!”

 

Joster stood up straight and said, his voice still subdued, “They targeted you?”

 

“They did, Joster,” Neal said, his voice still low. “But because of this, we believe they have all been…eliminated. So though it was a little frightening at the time, it was worth it, you see.”

 

He stood upright and smiled gently at them, and they shuffled their feet.

 

“Sorry, Neal,” Merritt said, diffidently. “We – our place to criticise you it is not. It seemed that you had put yourself in danger and excluded us.”

 

“Yes, sorry, Neal,” Joster agreed. “We – well, you did do it before, with the flowers! It makes us feel unnecessary, that you trust us not.”

 

“I quite see that, and I am sorry that you felt that way, because, especially when I am travelling, you are indispensible to me! I did not intentionally snub you or exclude you! And we are about to have this gathering and it is so complex, so I would appreciate it if you would put this misunderstanding behind you, as I will surely need you over the next ten days or more!” Neal smiled at them both. “I am glad you want me to be safe. I appreciate your loyalty!”

 

They smiled back. “Is everything now in readiness, Neal?”

 

“I think so! I have tried to think of all eventualities, and Mozzie has helped. Perhaps we could go over the lists together?”

 

The three walked off, and Peter became aware that Lord Steel was standing behind him – probably not intending to ‘loom’! Peter was tall enough so seldom did men on Earth tower over him, but it was different here, and each time he came he had to re-learn it! Neal had looked like a boy, walking between Joster and Merritt!

 

“Neal,” Steel said softly to Peter, “is not the same man you came back to fetch to Earth. He is not the same man who died to the plants.”

 

Peter turned and nodded. “I can see that, Lord Steel – I hear it in his voice. I understand he was put in another dangerous situation…and survived. Incredible survivor!

         “And yes, I see it with those men of his. A level of confidence and strength. Though he conned them out of their annoyance!”

 

“He has gone through many crises, he has been given opportunities to grow, and he has. Again, I am proud of him.”

 

“I often felt that way about him, when he was …mine. I felt that, you know – not like a possession, though Neal might have thought I felt that! – but as though he was special to me, like family.

         “In fact,” Peter laughed a little bitterly, “that is exactly what went wrong…I confused him with my dysfunctional family!”

 

Steel looked down at this man whom he did not understand very well, and felt sad for him. “You want to go back to that?”

 

Peter looked straight at him. “I would give almost anything to go back to the period in our lives when I treated Neal unfairly, and do things a different way, Lord Steel.”

 

“And you have told him that?”

 

“Perhaps not in exactly those words.”

 

“Give him time, Peter. You yourself told me that he has not a malicious bone in his body – but if one puts ones hand in the fire, and gets burnt, one is not quite so keen to try it again.”

 

“We hoped perhaps that he would still be the forgiving, gentle criminal of old!” Peter made a joke of it. “But he wants more time, and we have nothing more to give him but time.”

 

“Time and honesty. He will come round I believe.”

 

“And I think we may never have that level of…intimacy…again. He has so many other friends, he hardly needs us! And we did treat him terribly, especially in one instance. He says he’s forgiven us, but…”

 

“Probably a good thing, Peter, that he has other friends! As I understand it, you and Mozzie were all of his circle, even El and June was not part of his days to the same extent! That alone puts a strain on a relationship, without the dangers you faced.

         “And if he says he has forgiven you, he has. But it will take some time. If you do nothing more to hurt him, he will find his way back to you if he sees that you are standing, waiting.”

 

“You – you will not advise him against it, Lord Steel?”

 

“No, Peter! Of course I will do no such thing!”

 

“We did not always see eye-to-eye, and Neal has a very special place in your heart.”

 

“These things are true. Perhaps if he was still gullible, and I thought you might hurt him, I would say something. As it is, it is not my place. He is a man and an extremely capable one, from what I have observed. And I believe you are well-meaning.”

 

“Ouch!” Peter grinned. “Perhaps that is not translating well!” He sighed a little. “We only want to try and get back to being his friends, Lord Steel. He…he was a special friend, he saved my life, my career. I can’t forget that.”

 

Steel nodded, patted his shoulder and left as Elizabeth joined Peter. “Don’t be sad, Hon. All we could do is say we are sorry and explain.”

 

“You don’t understand…”

 

“Yeah, I think I do, a little.” Her big blue eyes were thoughtful, nostalgic.

 

There was an undertone of anger in Peter’s voice. “How can I have a friend like that and throw him away, tell him lies about himself to make me feel better about the fact that I was free but not the way I wanted to be?”

 

El shook his arm. “You did hear him say he forgave you, right? Perhaps it’s time to forgive yourself. How are you helping, doing this?”

 

“Oh, I know what happened. I don’t blame myself…I was confused. But how does that help if I can’t put it right?”

 

“You mean put it back to the way it was, and I don’t think you can. Neal’s changed, you’ve changed. You can’t go back to the way things were, him being totally dependent on you. You have to build something different, now, Hon.”

 

“That’s sort of what he said. That we don’t need each other and – and he’s right. We are very different. Always were…he’s fine wine, I’m beer. He’s three-piece perfectly tailored wool suits, I’m – off-the-rack black polyester! He’s museums and galleries, I’m baseball diamonds.” Peter shook his head. “We were together because he was a criminal and I was an agent, and now that no longer applies!”

 

“I can think of several things you have in common,” El said, tugging him. “You’re both good men. You would both do anything to keep someone you cared about safe. I would trust my life and everything I have and am to either of you – and did, in the past!”

 

Peter looked down at her and a small smile tugged his mobile mouth. “So you think he’s given up being a criminal?”

 

“Don’t care. He’s certainly a different person here, but if I knew for absolutely certain that he’d just magically moved every Monet and every Rodin into his own private, secure, underground vault that no-one would ever, ever find, I would trust him with everything I had – even if it was very valuable. He was always a criminal, Peter, he always lived by a different set of rules – but he had a set of rules! They were a little…fluid. Sometimes he prioritised them differently to the way you might! But he could be trusted.

         “He tried so hard to never hurt us. I’m not saying he managed it! He knew if you ever found out about the gold coins that it would hurt you terribly. But he knew that losing your job as an agent would hurt you more, so he took the coins. He never even knew about the death penalty for killing senators. He just knew how you loved being an FBI Agent and did what he had to do to save your job and hoped you would never find out and be hurt.”

 

“You’ve never put all that so…firmly, clearly, before, Hon.”

 

“You haven’t spoken about it much, since Claire, and you’ve seemed much happier, so I haven’t brought it up at all!

         “But you have to stop analysing that disastrous year. It happened, it’s over. He’s a natural, exceptional criminal, you’re a natural, exceptional LEO. You both grew up with a freight-load of baggage. Both of you did the best you could. What more can you ask of him, of yourself?”

 

Peter hugged her close and smiled and kissed her nose. “Always said I had a smart wife.”

 

“Yeah, you did – but I wasn’t so smart that awful year, let’s not forget that!”

 

“You were distracted by your extremely handsome, but stupid husband.”

 

“That’s the other thing you and Neal have in common: you’re both always handsome and sometimes stupid even though you’re exceptional!”

 

They laughed a little.

 

“What do you want to do?” Peter asked. “Neal asked us to go to this get-together, and I should make sure there’re cops covering for us, as Diana will also want to be here, so I should call in the whole reserve team and integrate them.”

 

“Lucilla! Hallo!” El said, turning and going over to embrace the slender, dark woman. “I saw you earlier, but haven’t really said Hallo properly.”

 

“Master Neal said to come and ask if you had time to discuss your clothing for the Betchem gathering. He said you would feel more comfortable in Steel clothing?”

 

“But – don’t you have a hundred other outfits to create?” El asked.

 

“No, we are almost completely finished. Neal gave us a good period of time, he let us know many fifty-days ago and, of course, many of us already have festive-wear. But you are not usually on Brethsham, so let us make you something special!”

 

“What is it, exactly, this gathering?” Peter asked.

 

“None of us know!” Lucilla smiled. “I believe only Neal and Sir Mozzie know! I asked Lord Steel, and he merely shrugged and said all he knew was that it was a party, not to worry!”

 

“We have the clothing you made us many seasons ago, Lucilla, it is still perfect, and we probably will not be here very often to wear something new,” Peter told her.

 

“I do not want to disappoint Neal. He has done a great deal of work for me. Whenever I want a new design, he is able to interpret my wishes, or those of the client, and do so quickly. But – if you are sure…”

 

El thought back to her Steel Keep dresses and the suits Peter had worn. “You know, I would love to have all that soft clothing we wore here, while we are here…have you still got our ordinary clothes? And if Neal would like us to have something new, and it is no trouble, let us enjoy it!”

 

“Come. We have your clothing, I believe, Elizabeth. And we will discuss the colours for you both?” She smiled more broadly.

 

“Um – I probably - ” Peter balked.

 

“I’ll sort something out for you, Hon! Why don’t you go and see the horses!”

 

“I’m not five!” Peter joked, and turned – and nearly fell over Neal hurrying down the corridor the other way.

 

“Oh!” Neal said, as they steadied each other. “Oh, good! Is Lucilla looking after you?”

 

“Yes! El says I am not needed, to go and look at the pretty horsies!”

 

Neal laughed, and Peter felt warmed inside. Neal had so seldom laughed! “Let me come and exercise at least one of mine, and show you the flowers…you can take El later, very romantic, but take some warriors with you. We had an…incident. We think it is all over, but be completely sure we can not.”

 

“I heard your men…you were threatened?”

 

“Yes, are they not dear and silly? Oh! Sorry! English!” Neal shifted easily. “Of course, they are correct, I am no match for any well-trained warriors!”

 

“You were alone?”

 

“I had Mozzie!”

 

Peter frowned a little. “I remember you both being surprisingly… dangerous if threatened.”

 

“Yes, though there were quite a crowd of them, but the fact was that they had the school-children and not all of the Keeps’ armies could prevail!”

 

“Your English is unaccented, but your sentence construction sometimes shows how much time you spend here!”

 

“Does it? No-one else has told me!”

 

“You just don’t sound exactly like you used to, that’s all.”

 

“Not really surprising! Here, this is the stallion I usually ride, Simma.”

 

“Beautiful, isn’t he?”

 

“Did you have a favourite?” Neal asked, getting his saddle, and Peter glanced over, noting the past tense. Well, he hadn’t been around a great deal!

 

“Let me ask which needs exercise,” Peter said, and went off, coming back with a soft grey mare with mauve eyes, already tacked up. “Look what they gave me: her name is Shiss.”

 

“Good! Let’s go!”

 

They were soon trotting along the cleared path. Peter noted that Neal was confident and enjoying himself, whereas he, himself, was out of practice. “I should ride more. Do you think Steel would mind if I came back regularly? It’s good exercise and reminds me of my original home!”

 

“I think Steel would love extra help with the horses! You know these Steel Keepers! Horses, horses, horses!”

 

They cantered and then fell back to a walk as Neal recalled the way. This time, as they neared, they were both suddenly surrounded by the most delightful scent.

 

“Oh that’s what my Lord meant! Oh, wow!” Neal murmured. They dismounted and knotted the reins on the horses’ necks.

 

“What if the horses wander?” Peter asked.

 

“Doesn’t matter. They’ll stay together and I’ll jump to Simma if we can’t see them – and they come to a whistle, anyway.”

 

“Oh!” Peter said. He had not used the jumping, was unaware of the various ways Mozzie and Neal had put it to good use…typical! He followed Neal up the tiny track and there lay the flowers. “I can bring El here? She’ll love it, Neal!”

 

“Yes, I think she will. Not many people know it, I don’t think. My Lord showed it to me.”

 

“Thank you for sharing it.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

Peter gazed over the sight, and then turned and looked at Neal, who was looking directly at him and didn’t drop his eyes when Peter met them. Peter shrugged. “I would give anything other than El to make things right.”

 

Neal smiled a little. “You did jump to lots of conclusions over the years.”

 

“As you nearly did, if I am right and you actually _did_ BASE jump to Wall Street. Did you?”

 

“I told you I did, never lied – you thought I was joking!” Neal chuckled.

 

“I couldn’t think of one other way, no matter how hard I tried.”

 

“Such a rush! Catching bad guys has some excitement to it, if they’re really bad, evil, but avoiding capture by dazzling means with very close timing – nothing like it!”

 

“What happened to the Degas, anyway?”

 

“Degas?”

 

“Okay, okay, stupid question.”

 

“No, you want to see The Entrance of the Masked Dancers, you can go and see it in Williamstown, Massachusetts.”

 

“Hmm…that the real one?”

 

“Peter, I’m here with you on a planet, far, far away! How can I possibly answer that!”

 

“Just thought you might know.”

 

“Yeah, you give me waa-aay too much credit!”

 

“You could jump there and look!”

 

“I haven’t cased the joint recently! Need somewhere private to land, don’t you think?” There was a silence and Neal asked, “Really care, Peter?”

 

“No. I mean, I don’t care if you stole the stupid thing, I don’t even like ballet!”

 

Neal laughed at Peter’s reasoning.

 

“But in the years since we got abducted, every now and then I’d wonder. You left me with a lot of unanswered questions!”

 

“Good exercise for your brain, left to contend with mere street-level thugs!”

 

“Don’t be mean!”

 

“Can I help it if I am so fascinating that you’re still fussing about me all these years later?”

 

“Oh, get over yourself!”

 

“I keep trying, and then you come and shower me with compliments! Come on, New York is _that_ dull these days?”

 

“Duller than it used to be when I worked with you…not all a bad thing!”

 

Neal just smiled, knelt down and lifted one of the flowers so he could see down the pretty thing’s throat.

 

“So what’s this big secret gathering?”

 

“It is a secret…can you keep it?”

 

“Not from El.”

 

“Don’t be stupider than Mozzie thinks suits are!”

 

“So tell me. I’ll tell El, she will tell no-one!”

 

“I visited all the Alliance Keeps…”

 

“Alliance Keeps?”

 

“Well, there are lots of Keeps on Brethsham, some tiny, some quite large, and a King with a separate…oh, never mind! I can’t think you’ll ever need to know all this! There are five Keeps that have a co-operative alliance. Steel is the smallest. I visited them all as our heir.”

 

“Oh…? Sort of a State Visit?”

 

“Quite a lot less stately than that! I was looking for clues about the murders…anyway, there are Earthlings there, in all of them.”

 

“Couldn’t they go home?”

 

“They could have. These are Earthlings who prefer to be here.”

 

“Like you and Moz.”

 

“No, not like me and Moz. Moz and I jump back and forth to Earth and have several bases there. These stay in their Keeps. They are slaves. Their Lords are less…casual than ours. Some get a bit lonely, some are not happy. I thought I’d throw a Christmas Party for them! With a lot of help from a great many accommodating friends, many of them powerful people.”

 

“But Christmas has already been…it was today.”

 

“Yes, but what does that matter here? Unless one of them has a brain like Mozzie, who, other than us, knows? The year is longer here! Anyway, the Ukrainians, for example, celebrate Christmas 13 days later than we do. Well, they actually celebrate it mostly on their Christmas Eve……but who cares? It’s a _party!”_

 

Peter wondered when Neal had spent Christmas in the Ukraine… _large_ numbers of secrets, this young man had kept from him, and off all his international files! Even Rachel’s fantastic collection of data had lots of holes when it came to the Life of Neal – nothing about the Ukraine. That was an accomplishment! Somehow, it made Peter feel happy for his former friend. And the fact that he still spent time reading those files made him feel sad about himself! He said, “You do love your parties!”

 

“This has been an amazing amount of work! But it will be worth it, I think! Hope it will give people joy, make them feel at home.”

 

Peter watched him as Neal bent close over the outermost flowers, inhaling their fragrance and studying the intricate details of their petals: stripes and speckles in the deepest part of the throat, pure white structures that probably were this planet’s answer to Earth flowers’ stamens and stigmas. Without looking up, Neal asked, “Did you mean it?”

 

“What, Neal?”

 

“That you were sorry.” Suddenly Peter was impaled on that bright Steel gaze. Suddenly he realised he was out here with a man who had managed all sort of feats of survival, who was far more at home with the terrain, the horses, the conditions here. Who could jump at will and had set up locations to do so. Who wielded the sword – the sword he wore as regularly and with as much panache as he used to his Fedora - much more easily than he did a gun. And he was a crack shot.

 

Even when he’d seen Neal shoot Keller, when he’d seen Neal threaten Fowler, it had always been for someone else. Revenge, protection…he had never thought of Neal as dangerous.

 

Till this minute.

 

“You think I’m lying to you?” Peter demanded, and regretted it the minute he said it. Because he had before, and he saw the words in Neal’s eyes, though the younger man said nothing, just waited.

 

Peter sighed. “Yes. Yes, Neal, I meant it. Why did you think I didn’t?”

 

“You normally just deflect, redirect. You said, once, ‘I shouldn’t have investigated James.’ You didn’t actually apologise, you wanted me to take it as read – and I did. So it isn’t something you’re comfortable saying.”

 

Peter pursed his lips, but admitted, “No, it isn’t.”

 

Neal stood up in a fluid motion that caught Peter off-guard, strode off and leapt aboard Simma. He held Shiss’ reins for Peter and as he handed them over he said, without emphasis, “Guess there’s not a lot of call for apologies when one is so often right.”

 

Peter looked up at him, a greyed-out shape against the bright winter sky, and didn’t know if Neal was serious, critical, sarcastic, joking, or even, just possibly, complimentary! **_Bloody!_** _conmen!_ “I admit that I often thought about myself as right, on the side of the angels, in relation to you and Moz, because of my badge and your…go-bags!

        “And you have to admit…” Peter climbed aboard the mare, “…that was often the case. But I also know now that there’s more to life than ‘illegal’ versus ‘legal’. And Neal, I was often trying to do the thing that was right to keep you out of prison, not necessarily what you would think was kind or supportive – like with James.”

 

They jogged along for a while before Neal asked, “Don’t suppose…you haven’t heard anything about James? Or the corrupt cops for that matter?”

 

“Nothing. I’m sorry, Neal. He could be dead, he could be anywhere. It would be a miracle for us to find him, now. He was good, before, remained under the radar as well as Mozzie does when he wants to!”

 

“Mmm.”

 

Neal pulled up his horse and Peter copied him. Neal stared into his face for a good half-minute and then said, “I can’t think of a single reason you’d come here and lie to me. And if you’re really sorry, I think we can be friends.”

 

“Are you sorry for all the cons you ran on me?” Peter demanded, grinning.

 

“No,” Neal told him. “Not one little bit! Firstly, self-defence when surrounded by hyena-like FBI agents who can track one every minute of every day! And I probably wouldn’t have, most of them, if you’d been on my side – like with Kate. If you’d just helped me a little, I wouldn’t have had to go behind your back. If you’d been honest with me about James, the music-box - ”

 

“There’s a few quibbles…we certainly didn’t track you every second of every day, so don’t pretend that we did!

         “But we both kept more secrets than we needed to, should have, because we weren’t sure how far to trust the other. We both saw each other as very different. If we’d concentrated on our similarities, and given each other a bit more trust, we would have been great, and would still be together, probably.”

 

Neal raised his eyebrows and crumpled his chin. “You have thought this through. Good for you.”

 

“I’ll give you one, though…I knew you were after Kate, trying to help her. If I hadn’t shut you down about that – hey? If I had just listened and believed you – that’s where it all went wrong.”

 

“I wish there’d been a way for you to believe me. You knew me only as a criminal, and a good one – an efficient one.”

 

“No. There isn’t much of an excuse. You broke out of Supermax to get her, and when she was gone you just waited for me. If I’d thought for two moments instead of assuming, I’d have known you weren’t conning me about this special girl of yours.”

 

“Pity we didn’t have the services of the Chiri or the Laffay’s – they could have told you I wasn’t, that I was seriously concerned for her safety.

         “Bloody Fowler!”

 

“Bloody Adler, you mean!”

 

“Yeah, him too. But he was very good to me, you know, before. I wonder how my life would have gone if I worked for him and didn’t try and con him! Whereas Fowler was such an acerbic bastard every time he appeared or opened his ugly mouth!”

 

“Like a snake, Adler. Sorry, Neal – I recognise that I can trust you and Mozzie completely. Yeah, yeah, you may be painting caves somewhere to drive me crazy, but if I ask you to do something for me or El, you’ll do it, you won’t hurt us or, indeed, most innocent people except museum owners! - ”

 

Neal laughed.

 

“ – but I think you know that sooner or later, Adler would have thrown you under a bus, even if you’d been as loyal to him as you were to me.”

 

“Now you are just trying to butter me up and thereby you’re making me very, very suspicious!”

 

“Have you done one thing to Steel, run one con, stolen anything?”

 

Neal shrugged. “It isn’t the same, Peter! Look! His signet ring! He pressed Mozzie and I into having a proper furnished suite of rooms instead of the dusty unused suite that we kind of commandeered.

         “I loved the man from the time he bought us, pretty much, he never did one thing against any of us. He could have asked anything of me, indeed, he could have forced me to do anything on Pain of Death, as Emperor Ming was so fond of saying! – all he does is try and make me and Mozzie happy. And the rest of his slaves.

         “And I have moved around some exceedingly valuable art-work!” He grinned to himself.

 

“No, you’re right. The way Steel has treated you : not what I did, that’s for sure!”

 

“Peter, don’t be silly. You weren’t an individual, you worked for the FBI. You had no autonomy.”

 

“Ah – puppet of the Economic-Military-Industrial Complex of the Corporate United States?”

 

“Something like that,” Neal smiled. “Moz’s right, though, you know – you sometimes did things out of compassion, but they would have been frowned upon by the ‘government’. I know Kramer’s take on our ‘friendship’. He got you all turned around about it, screwed us up badly…and you let him! It’s not a very nice system, and it’s certainly not an efficient one. Sorry! Was! I was living in the past for a moment.”

 

“Yeah. There are times when that was totally true. But now you’re not in that system at all, and Mozzie never was, so…?”

 

“So now we actually can try being friends.” Neal fiddled, messing about with his reins, then said, “But you do know we have little in common. Seriously.”

         He waited for Peter to speak and then looked at him, surprised.

 

Peter opened his mouth and his throat seemed stuck closed. But he managed, “I love you, Neal.”

 

Neal’s eyes opened wide and Simma shifted under him.

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not what straight men say to each other,” Peter nodded, not holding Neal’s gaze, “and it probably is what got me into trouble with confusing you and Bobby – though I seriously can’t remember loving Bobby! Even though I knew I _should!_

         “I know the whole BFF thing has cheapened the concept, but you were my best friend, someone I loved and trusted, before everything went wrong. And somehow, love doesn’t care how much we had in common! Love is quite without reason! El loves old Jazz, I really don’t. I love fishing – she _really_ doesn’t! I like a cold beer from any fridge – you open wine that preferably has been kept at a precise temperature by some fantastically expensive technology. I love baseball, you can estimate the black-market value of Babe Ruth’s shortest bat, and that’s as far as you care!

         “But our dog is named Satchmo, and El will go fishing with me and not complain if there really is no-one else to come with me (but she usually reads in the boat!) I drank beer while you and Moz enjoyed your fancy libations. You bought me mound time – or blackmailed someone, I don’t know! – but you gave me a little taste of a dream that you couldn’t care less about!”

 

Peter stopped, having run out of breath and Neal said, “Wow.” For a moment there was silence other than the movement of the horses, then he went on, “That, for a straight, undemonstrative man – at least outside of his marriage! – is a long speech!”

 

“Yeah, yeah – you can tease me about it!”

 

“Peter, I’m not teasing. I think it’s a wonderful thing to say, wonderful memories to give me. And I agree. Apart from the distrust – and you going quite, completely and horribly crazy those last months!” Neal grinned to show he was joking, and Peter grinned back, though, he thought, it was quite true! “We got on well, didn’t we? Mostly. And as I said before, it’s really amazing, considering how different we are and the circumstances, you having me chipped like a dog and me hating people who carry guns!”

 

“If you hadn’t broken the law, you wouldn’t have had to have anything to do with me and my gun or your puppy-chip! You were always round my feet, interrupting breakfast, disappearing and running cons behind my back and making me have to lie to Hughes for you!”

 

“If you hadn’t caught me, you wouldn’t have had to have me round your feet, eating your cereal – though I think you really hated that _I_ got the Sherriff’s badge, _really_ – you seldom actually lied to anyone for me – and you can _not_ complain about me being round your feet _and_ disappearing, now can you? How contrary can you be, Burke?”

 

“Catching you,” Peter told him, warming to this theme, “was my job. I had to catch you, or I’d have been fired and Elizabeth and I – and Satchmo – would have been out on the street, eating scraps out of dumpsters.”

 

“You could have caught someone else, someone less majestic who would be dull and sit in a chair in the office and be not a bit of trouble and could never find their way to your house with a taxi with GPS, both hands free and a printed address – and who wouldn’t know that cereal boxes with sugary cereal designed for children have toys in.

         “You could have spent your time and caught several stupid criminals who would have been no trouble, instead of me!”

 

“They wouldn’t have been any trouble because they would have stayed in prison! Firstly, they wouldn’t have broken out! Then, if they were stupid, they wouldn’t have been any use as a CI – _and_ , you have only yourself to blame for your puppy-chip, if you recall – _I_ didn’t suggest it! You begged me to get you out to find the Dutchman - ”

 

“Which I did, me and Moz, by my genius and my out-of-the-box thinking and knowing about exigent circumstances which – you thought I didn’t notice! – only Diana, of all your Harvard-trained minions, knew what that even meant, let alone could formulate an innovative plan on the spur of the moment, with no sleep whatsoever, and in the middle of the night, using only things found lying around about the house, and thereby catch this most daring, bright and celebrated of your Most Wanted, since I was already working with you.”

 

Peter did actually need a moment. How could Neal talk constantly, without taking a breath, and not get entangled in that never-ending run-on sentence? He managed, “You had no interest in catching the Dutchman other than staying out of prison to find Kate!”

 

“And helping you, Peter dear,” Neal smirked, “to stay off the streets and safely in your ultra-suburban home eating children’s cereal rather than discarded rat-gnawed pizzas and limp lettuce out of the garbage! And much more importantly, your wife and your beautiful dog from suffering that fate because their provider was so awful at it!”

 

“I suppose you are using suburban as a derogatory term?” Neal shrugged a positive and Peter continued, “And the things ‘lying around’ happened to be June’s Jaguar and expensive Nikon camera!”

 

“A Rabbit and a Brownie would have worked just as well, actually. But _they_ weren’t lying around near me, so I had to make do with found items. I wasn’t even fully clothed when I took down that dangerous criminal for you and El, let alone padded up like a wimpy Federal Agent with a bullet-proof jacket, and carrying a gun, or two, and surrounded by a score of similarly-protected backup agents _and_ a SWAT team on standby outside with HUGE big guns, total protective gear and _helmets!”_

 

 ** _“Wimpy!”_**   Peter gasped, not able to think of anything scathing enough to say to this offensive remark…and then he saw Neal’s luminous grin and started to laugh. They laughed so much that they felt they had to tumble off their horses and hug each other, still laughing.

 

“I have missed you, you horrible man!” Peter told Neal.

 

Neal stood away and thought a bit. “Not sure I have…”

 

“You say you never lie to me!”

 

“I have missed _this_ Peter Burke,” Neal admitted.

 

“See, did that hurt?”

 

“Yeah, lil’ bit.”

 

“And being prepared is not being wimpy!”

 

“Never learn, never give up, never win!

         “Being wimpy depends! If I had to get all geared up – after reading the whole of the Warrant Law Tome – Hagen would have finished the printing runs and already left, flown the Atlantic and landed in Spain! At least I, as an independent and not a puppet of a corrupt government, can plan and execute a daring plot, catch the bad guy, keep my own skin intact without technological advances in truly ugly velcro-on vests and even have time for a cigar.”

 

“ _Bet_ you would have preferred to be wearing a bullet-proof vest!”

 

Neal shook his head decisively. “Upset the way my coat lay upon my body.” Peter closed his eyes. How was it that Neal could make a perfectly ordinary statement sound lascivious? “Make the guards, however stupid, suspicious. Ruin a good plan. Not catch the Dutchman – and Agent Burke ends up on the streets again. All for the wimpy need of a bulky and very ugly government-issue jacket!”

 

“I am not going to argue with you…”

 

“Very wise!”

 

“…at the moment. I am too pleased that we are actually talking – arguing – whatever! At some later date I shall take up this gantlet you have tossed.”

 

“Um,” Neal said, and Peter could almost believe apologetically if it were not for the twinkle in his eyes, “the word for which you are searching is actually ‘ _gauntlet’._ Both gauntlet and gantlet can be a lengthy punishment, but throwing down a cuffed glove as a challenge is always a gauntlet.”

 

“Smarty-pants!” Peter hissed.

 

“ _And_ hence the sugary children’s cereals with toys in the box!”

 

They mounted their horses and trotted on. “How will Mozzie take it that we are friends again?” Peter asked.

 

“Oh, he’ll make some snide remarks, but he won’t really care once I explain the reason you went into the evil-Peter-mode. I will have to do that – or you can.”

 

Peter made faces but said, “I’m not ashamed of being tricked by my mind, I think most of us are now and then…and ask him if he knows or is related to Claire, the hypnotherapist. I wouldn’t be at all surprised. And – I’d like to see him again. Once I know he’s not gunning for me.”

 

“I’ll have to ask him. But he wasn’t actually going after you – trust me, you’d have known all about it!”

 

“Yeah, guess I would.” Peter sighed.

 

 

 

Neal and Peter walked side-by-side into the wide corridor leading from the stables to the kitchen junction and suddenly Neal was assailed by a flying figure, nearly knocking him off his feet!

 

“Neal! Why did you not tell me you were home!”

 

Peter, at first startled, saw that Neal was laughing and hugging a woman nearly as tall as himself, slender and dressed in Brethsham clothing.

 

“Litha, you are a pest!” Neal told her, and she kissed him on the lips and said, “If that means it will be hard to rid yourself of me, I admit it! More – I embrace it!” She hugged him, to illustrate her meaning clearly.

 

“How did you get here?”

 

“Lira has orders to come and get me if she is not too busy!” Litha explained, grinning. “Whenever you are home.”

 

“Ah-hah! You are far too clever and I shall have to take steps if I am ever to have any privacy!”

 

“Who is this, please?” Litha asked, looking at Peter over her shoulder. “I may not be able to say things in front of him.”

 

“No, he is from Earth, he is like the Military – better to say things behind his back!”

 

“Military!” Peter spluttered. “Firstly, I am NOT, in any way, like those badly-trained, poorly disciplined, drunken idiots who – who - why do I bother?”

 

“I know not, Peter – why?”

 

“Ah, you are _Peter_ …” Litha stepped away from Neal and circled Peter like a hunting cat.

 

“Down, girl.” Neal watched with delight.

 

“He was dark in your soul before, but I see he trying to make amends…do you trust him again, my Neal?”

 

“And she wears a sword, too!” Neal mentioned to Peter. “And is apparently very good with it! Litha, Sweetie, perhaps read Earthlings you should not.”

 

“You said, _Mozzie._ You said nothing about a man who trapped you in a small cage as a tortured animal, and bound you with a nasty thing so he could track you like one, too, and shouted at you for doing something good for him. You said the Slavers were evil and they did those things!”

 

“Um - ” Neal didn’t know where to start!

 

“Yes, I did all those things, and I told him I was sorry…well, not for the cage, it is our law, and not the anklet, it was his idea…” Peter tried, and glanced at Neal with appeal in his eyes. Neal grinned again. “Did Neal tell you all those things?”

 

“No, you are an easy read,” she said. “And I am not sure I should trust you at all with my Neal. And why would he want to be bound to _you!”_

 

“I think you are very rude,” Peter said. “Neal and I had fun – often – sometimes – and he _did_ …”

 

“Oh!” Litha bounced back to Neal, all lit up once again. “You did it for your lover with the bright blue eyes! Oh, would you do it for me?”

 

Peter smiled, remembering El saying that he’d have run for _her!_

“I would do anything for you, Litha! And she did have lovely eyes, did she not? Her name was Kate.”

 

“What happened…oh,” Litha’s lights went out, “she died. Oh, my poor Neal!”

 

Neal hugged her. “She died. I was distraught at the time. But looking back I think the best woman for me she was not, though I wish, of course, that died she had not.”

 

“Why was she not right?”

 

“Because I think now I have found the best woman for me.”

 

Litha smiled at him. Then she turned, glanced at Peter with a disapproving look and asked, “So truly, this Military-like man helped you?”

 

“Um, our relationship had good times and bad times. However, not all the bad times were his fault, Litha.”

 

“I have not heard one person say anything good about the Military.”

 

“His position on our planet is not quite the same as the Military,” Neal told her, grinning wickedly at Peter. “And I should explain to Peter that my Litha here is full Laffay and can see almost anyone’s soul. Except Mozzie's, because she promised.”

 

“So I should hope!” Litha said. Then she looked hard at Peter, who felt totally helpless under that gaze. But she smiled and said, “He has only good thoughts for you now, Neal. He may stay!”

 

“How old are you?” Peter demanded, and Neal immediately put an end to what he knew would turn into a long discussion.

 

“Peter, you know perfectly well that years and seasons and lifetimes are difficult to compare!”

 

“She seems about fifteen!”

 

“Ah, but so do I, to you, Agent Burke, so she and I are well-suited, are we not?” Neal ended this sentence smiling down at his love. “We are young at heart.”

 

“I did not know of this young lady,” Peter said.

 

“We met quite a while ago, but have only now decided – or my Litha has decided for both of us – that we will marry!”

 

“One thing across the universe…the often hidden power of the female of the species!” Peter agreed. “Can we introduce her to Elizabeth?”

 

“I think we will have to,” Neal nodded, tucked Litha’s hand in the crook of his arm and walked next to Peter, who was brimming with questions like a boiling pot, wrestling with its lid!

 

They found Elizabeth with Lucilla, not still deciding about colours, but chatting and helping sew a hem. She stood when she saw ‘her boys’ and Litha.

 

“Elizabeth, this is Litha, my betrothed, although we have not had a formal ceremony yet,” Neal told her, which felt odd to him, just coming right out and telling the whole truth like that!

 

Litha took El’s hand and said, “Again, regrets, Neal.”

 

“Yes, she told me so. We have made our peace, the three of us, Litha.”

 

“What lovely eyes you have, Litha!” El told her. “You and Neal will have wonderful children, beautiful and brilliant.”

 

“El, at least let us decide things before you do!” Neal complained.

 

“If we decide to have children – which our families will certainly expect, Neal – it will be as you say, Eliz-a-bet.”

 

“We have made peace, it is true, but Neal – I think you have not told us many important things!” El chuckled.

 

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Neal said in long-suffering English, “I myself haven’t been told most of what is going on!”

 

“Welcome to married life!” Peter told him, giving him a one-armed hug.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
